A Magical Instance
by intensedreams
Summary: Written belatedly for SQW Summer 2015 prompt - Time Travel Emma's been fiddling with trinkets in Gold's shop and ends up elsewhere...


I am trash for SMF things and i was almost in tears writing this which is weird i never make myself cry !

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Emma had no idea how she had gotten here – messing with artefacts of Gold's seemed to have that effect occasionally. She may have the power of the dark one sneaking about in the back of her mind and suffusing her body with impulses and a cloying sense of unease, but she is still Emma Swan. Fairly clueless in matters magical.

She'd been raking for things… because she could. And because Gold had holed himself up with Belle as he tried desperately to recover and to reconnect with her. He'd left his shop unobserved. It was kind of sweet in a way, Emma supposed, pity thin on the ground as far as she was concerned, but you could see the man was trying to repent. Trying to be better. And that maybe gave Emma a small measure of hope that was swiftly snatched away by the voices telling her... _things_.

Emma got up to minor mischief to try and keep herself from battering dwarfs or ripping out the hearts of idiots, kept herself busy to stop the constant murmuring of provocative words in her ears. They seemed to be growing louder but she was stubborn.

Anyway – here she was – touching some necklace and poof she was standing in front of Regina's house.

Huh.

She shrugged and made her way up to the house intent on checking in on her family. She didn't know when she started considering Regina her family but it just happened one day and Emma had simply accepted it without batting her eyelids because yes – Regina was damn important. Yes Regina was her family and the other woman was exhausting herself to try and track down Merlin. Of course her parents went to Regina. What could they do themselves, let's be honest here. Henry had moved firmly back in with his mom and you could see how they had grown together – how they took strength and steadiness from each other in those fraught days before Emma had managed to get her shit together and appear at will from _wherever_ she had gone when she was sucked into the blade. Now Emma appreciated how Henry and Regina just were _of_ each other. And it warmed her heart in a way that nothing else did right now. Things had settled a bit since the initial drama but everyone was on edge from her stalking around the town like a predator. She was trying her best to not be a complete asshole and fuck with people because she _really_ wanted to. She was also trying to limit the amount of time she spent with the people she loved because really, she was fucking terrified of the what ifs.

Emma paused as she heard childs laughter from within the house – who? Didn't sound like Neal. Perhaps Roland? She crept around the side of the house, something telling her to not just throw the door open in the manner to which she'd become accustomed. One foot in front of another, she ducked under windows after peering through to see if the source of her curiosity was inside.

The kitchen - Emma paused under one of the window sills, hearing Regina's voice. She froze at the light-hearted tone, the _joy_ that suffused the other woman's words. Emma swallowed. She'd never heard Regina sounding this _light,_ this... free... before. She doesn't know how she feels about this - conflicted when Regina sounds as she should... as Emma wants to hear her, day in day out... but also irritated. So much for the soft but intensely spoken words - the promise from dark eyes that she would not rest until she had fix _this_ somehow. And Regina had been working from dawn til dusk - Emma had observed those intense eyes doing from focused to bleary to sleepy and frustrated and then back again.

She could feel the anger - unreasonable some part of her was shouting hoarsely - gathering at the back of her throat, that sick feeling - like acid bubbling back up from her stomach. Her palms were sweating and Emma, god, Emma knew what came next but she just so desperately didn't want to react anything like that around this home, Henry - god - Regina. She didn't want to violate this safe space.

"Who's my little prince" Regina's voice in a gentle sing song floated through the open window. Swooshing noises - the kind Emma just knew were for spoons and food flying towards little open mouths. That unrestrained laugh - Emma had _never_ heard that before - Regina's normally husky chuckle lighting up the dark places inside her.

Before she really knew what she was doing Emma had turned and poked her head up, her eyes peering through the glass into the kitchen.

Regina's hair was wrong was the first thing that came to mind but then the small child who sat in a high chair, chubby arms and legs flailing about excitedly caught her eye. Cherubic cheeks red and eyes - god _Henry's_ eyes - open and bright and Emma suddenly couldn't breathe against the onslaught of feelings. Regina was vibrant. Her hair was shorter and carelessly pushed back behind her ears in a way Emma had never seen. She was dressed casual, grey loose t-shirt hanging off one shoulder and - Emma blinked - sauce on her cheek where she'd clearly absentmindedly dashed her hand against her face. Henry cooed and babbled and waved his little arms - his little grabby fingers seizing a pasta piece and flinging it with abandon at the woman. Regina fell back, hand on stomach and she laughed - god she was so beautiful - head thrown back and shoulders heaving as she laughed uproariously, Henry joining in with his mom. The two of them looked so _happy._

Emma drew a shuddering breath as her eyes burned and tears escaped and felt like she was intruding - spying on her family - because let's face it - she'd kill and lay down her life for both in a heartbeat.

She let those tears escape for the life with Henry she'd never had, for the similar memories to this Regina had given her, for those memories now fading - she wondered at this magical instance - wondered at whether this was time travel, a memory somehow stolen from Regina by Gold...

She didn't know. And the voices in her head were curiously silent in the presence of this scene. But the threat of somehow altering timelines and messing with things stilled Emma from doing anything. She couldn't stop watching. Couldn't stop the smile as Regina mimed eating dramatically before swooping another spoonful into Henry's mouth with a swooshing noises and the most unrestrained grin. She couldn't stop watching but she couldn't stay either - she felt the tug at the bottom of her spine signalling a certain magical _something._ There wasn't long left and Emma just soaked up the sight of these two. Both having entered into her life in blazes of energy and emotion... She loved her parents of course but these two... These two were _everything_ to her and even the dark one's energy couldn't dampen what she felt for them both.

Emma could feel herself being drawn away, her body going faint - the cold clutches of dark magic trailing it's fingers down her spine - and she desperately drank in the sight of Regina and Henry, oblivious and happy and laughing. Her heart ached with want for a life she'd never had.

 _A life you never had because of Regina_ an insidious voice whispered and Emma furiously shook her head as she felt the cold enveloping her.

Nope. She would fight with everything she was to make sure she did no harm to Regina - she would _not_ fall under the clutches of this damned darkness inside her when her family was at stake.

It was going dark around her and she kept her eyes on the pair through the window, Regina now dancing from foot to foot as she bustled back and forth from the cooker to Henry. And she was _singing._ Emma couldn't hear the words now but she felt their warmth, even through the fading light. Even though the ice in her chest.

The light went out and Emma blinked suddenly, back in Golds shop. Tear tracks were wet upon her cheeks and she choked out a sob, her hand coming up to hover in front of her mouth.

It was all she wanted.

It was all she needed.

She hoped desperately Regina came up with something soon because it was slowly killing her staying away.


End file.
